Do You Want A Toxic Brain?

Do you have a toxic brain?

A toxic brain for the sake of this article is a brain that has been exposed to various toxins in the environment or the food you eat.

My last article “Do You Want A Fat Brain?” addressed some of the issues that can cause a shrinking brain. A shrinking brain can lead to dementia, Alzheimer’s or other brain disorders.

Fat throughout the body can be a storage place for toxins which includes your brain. Your brain is at least 60% fat.

Yes, daily you breathe in toxins from the environment that could affect the health of your brain.

Yes, daily you eat food and drink fluids that most likely are toxic.

You would have to live in a bubble to avoid exposure to toxins and nobody wants to do that. Even then you might have to consider what the bubble is made of and if you are breathing toxic materials from the bubble itself.

So, what to do? Here are a few suggestions to take care of your brain in this toxic world.

Avoid exposure to pesticides and other toxins. A study was conducted in Mexico of children who had been exposed to high levels of pesticides. It affected their fine eye-hand coordination as well as their memory recall.

Do not use aluminum cookware, aluminum foil, or aluminum cans. There is evidence that aluminum in the brain may contribute to dementia. Even aluminum containing antacids, pain relievers, deodorants, baking powders, and anti-caking agents in salt can contribute to accumulation of aluminum in the brain.

Limit the use of plastics. BPA is used in plastics to make them flexible. You will find it in plastic cups, water bottles, office water coolers, microwave trays, and plastic linings in canning containers. Rats exposed to BPA become less active, avoid loud noise and strong light, and had signs of estrogen in their brains. These estrogen properties have been associated with migraine attacks.

Drink green tea. The polyphenols in green tea have been found to promote brain performance and protect brain cells from toxins and brain diseases like Alzheimer’s.

High levels of homocysteine have been associated with cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s. It has been shown that supplementation with a combination of B6, B12, and folic acid over a 2 year period has reduced homocysteine levels and reduced brain shrinkage compared to no supplementation.

Refined sugars can interfere with signaling systems in the brain. This can distort the way your brain and body handles insulin which may lead to what is known as ‘type 3’ diabetes or Alzheimer’s. You may not think of sugar as a toxin but in reality, it is.

Oxidized fats and hydrogenated oils (trans fats) are damaging to brain cells. Healthy oils, especially omega-3’s like salmon oil will displace the bad fats in your brain. Studies have shown that a diet adequate in omega-3 has been known to help prevent mood swings associated with bi-polar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia. NeoLife’s Salmon Oil Plus provides the entire family of omega-3’s in the purest form available in the marketplace.

Essential fatty acids, the omega-6’s and omega-3’s from unrefined wheat, rice and soy provide the healthy fats that make your cell walls soft, pliable and healthy. A healthy cell wall allows nutrients to get in and toxins to get out. NeoLife’s Tre-en-en as found in ProVitality+ supplies these critical nutrients that are not found in any other whole food supplement.

Get adequate sleep and rest. Quality sleep helps the brain detox. Your brain must have an opportunity to reboot, defrag, and reformat in order to solve problems and do its job. Repeated sleep deprivation has been associated with early onset Alzheimer’s and/or dementia.

Stay active! A brain that is active is less likely to shrink and show signs of aging.

As you can determine from the above information, there are things you can do to reduce your risk of a toxic brain. Reducing your risk of a toxic brain reduces your risk of developing brain disorders such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, bi-polar, or even mood disorders.

High blood homocysteine may be one of the most consistent risk symptoms for heart disease, especially sudden death heart failure in young people. High homocysteine levels are linked to nutrient deficiencies of folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.

Homocysteine levels in the blood are not currently included in routine heart related blood tests. It is my opinion these levels should be routinely tested. You can request to have your homocysteine levels tested however it is expensive and your insurance might not pay for it.

I personally supplement with NeoLife’s Lipotropic Adjunct. Lipotropic Adjunct was formulated to help breakdown fats in the blood, balance cholesterol, and lower homocysteine levels.

Studies have shown that supplementation with quality B-vitamins such as in Lipotropic Adjunct has been shown to lower homocysteine levels to normal within six weeks.

What are you doing to protect your brain from accumulating toxins? What are you doing to prevent brain shrinkage as discussed in this blog and my previous blog "Do You Want A Fat Brain?"

As I ended my last blog “Are you going to be all there when you get there?”

Pat Unlocks the Key to Your Future Health with Wisdom, Knowledge and Common Sense

Pat has been married to the same man for 52 years, is the mother of 3 adult children, and grandma to 8 grandchildren. Growing up in the country gave her a head start to living a healthy lifestyle. This grandma became interested in nutrition as a mother and for the past 27 plus years she has specialized in teaching others the importance of good nutrition. Challenges along the road have been many; her father overcoming congestive heart failure with nutrition, her husband's battle with GERD and dealing with major heart issues, her daughter's battle with a brain tumor, her grandson beating Hodgkin's Lymphoma, her mother's stage 4 lung cancer, her mom-n-law's dementia, and others. Her goal is to empower the future health of others with wisdom, knowledge and common sense so they can have the BEST REAL HEALTH possible.

Great insight about how nutrition is so important to the human body. I am constantly amazed that people don't supplement. With our food having so much less nutrients than they did 50 years ago, it is key to supplement.

Yes, I join you in being amazed that people do not supplement. It is so difficult to get adequate nutrients from our regular food supply unless we go to an exceptional amount of trouble. We can get the nutrients we need from the food we eat but it is not easy to do. Supplementation is pretty much necessary for everyone.

Pat, about a week ago I decided it was time to do a general detox, starting with fresh lemon squeezed in hot water first thing each morning, long before my first food. I also scanned everything else I eat, drink and am exposed to. I cut out what had crept into my lifestyle. And, amazingly, just one week later, I can already start to feel the difference. Our bodies are marvelous … and SO resilient! Thanks for explaining how all the different elements are related to our brains.

What a great idea to do a general detox! Good for you. It is good for all of us to regularly review the foods that have crept into our diets without us really being aware. Reviewing what is really in our daily diet keeps us more aware of what we eat, drink and expose ourselves to.

It is amazing what just simple changes can do for our immune system and improve how we feel.

Wonderful article Pat! I really appreaciate the list of things we can do avoid having a toxi brain! One of the points really got me because I happen to use a lot of aluminum foil (to cut down on my cleaning when cooking). I will have to cut this habit! Again, thank you!

Yes, it is best to not cook with food directly on aluminum foil as the aluminum leaches into the food thus it leaches into your body including your brain. Also stay away from deoderants or antipresperants that have aluminum as an ingredient. It can certainly be a contributing factor to breast cancer.

What an informative article. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! A great side effect of following the tips in your post to not have a tocix brain is that they will benefit many aspects of your health (drink water, get adequate rest/sleep, etc.) Thanks for sharing this post!

I’m glad you found my article informative and interesting. My goal is to provide people with the information they need to make informed, healthy decisions about what they eat and what supplements they use.

The NeoLife nutritionals are tops. They are the best blend of what nature and science can deliver. We’ve used them for over 28 years and not once found any compromises in quality.

Fantastic article, Pat. One of my dear realtives had Alzhemier's disease and this article has been very informative. I have not heard the research about aluminum cookware, aluminum foil, or aluminum cans. Very interesting. Thank you, Pat, for keeping us all informed – and on the right path to being healthy!

If you had a relative with Alzheimer’s you are aware of it’s devestation. It is very difficult for the person as well as their family.

I’ve been aware of the aluminum thing for years and assumed it was a well known fact so I almost didn’t include it in the list. Now I’m glad I included it. Years ago, about 51 years ago, my husband and I invested in a top of the line set of stainless steel waterless cookware. I have to say it was one of the best investments we made in our future health. We are still using that same set of cookware even though we did have to replace the handles along the way.

That is so great that you eat healthy as possible! That is so important and most people do not. Of course, it is difficult to get all the nutrition you need from your food because our food supply is so depleted of nutrients and most of us are not active enough to eat enough food to fulfill our nutrient need. That is the reason most people will benefit from whole food supplements like NeoLife.

I love green tea, also. It is my most popular beverage besides water. Yes, sleep is very important yet many people skimp on it. I even often hear people brag about how early they get up after staying up half the night… not a healthy habit!

There is nothing more imprtant than a "clean" brain. The problem is, most people don't associate some illnesses and small "diseases" with their not taking care of the brain. In other words, people seem to be more concerned about their weight and their dress size than the health of the brain, becuase you can't "see" what goes wrong in there until it's too late. That's my theory and my two cents, so thanks for this post.

Your two cents is worthy of consideration. When people really do what is best for their weight & dress size, they will also be addressing some of the problems with their brain. What is really scary is that a good part of the weight loss fads are really not healthy and therefore can cause problems down the road with their brain function as well as their long term health in general.

Thanks for your theory and two cents … I love to know what others are thinking about the topics I write about.

Great tips and information. I want to keep my brain functioning it's best for as long as I can. With so many things in this world it is hard to keep up with what is good for us and what we need to adjust in our lives. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, it is difficult to keep up with what is good for keeping a healthy brain function. Part of my passion for healthy nutrition includes staying up with what it takes to keep our brains healthy. Feel free to pick my brain (no pun intended) any time.

Losing the use of your brain becomes more real as we advance in years. It is especially close to me because I watched as my mom-n-law gradually lost the ability to remember things. Any type of stress, including pain just accelerated the loss. I am seeing some of this in my own mother now as she is battling cancer at the age of 93 1/2. Proper nutrition and staying active play a huge role in brain function.

Some of the links on this site may not be working currently, we are working to correct the problem. Please contact Pat on the contact page if you need more information about NeoLife or any product mentioned.